SYNOPSIS

USA Today and International and bestselling author J.C. Valentine is back with the latest in her captivating, enigmatic, and rousing world of the Spartan Riders MC…

They’ve been through hell and back and have the scars to prove it.

Kade “Moose” Hunter doesn’t tolerate drama. He’s cocky, unapologetic, and all about the quiet side of life.

That’s why Mouse fits him so well.

Angel “Mouse” Grace isn’t like the other women hanging around the club. She’s sweet and gentle, and when Moose gets her engines revving, her passion burns bright. She’s the yin to his yang, and Moose is almost certain she’s the one, but life is never that easy for a Spartan.

The catch? Their town is falling apart.

A cesspool of crime and addiction, the Spartans face yet another challenge: confront crime lord Manuel Contreras and risk war, or worse, death. When Angel’s kid sister rolls into town and takes a shine to the Spartan’s mortal enemy, Moose is torn between doing what’s best for his family…and what’s best for his love life.

Will he be able to strike a balance, or lose everyone he cares about in the process?

*NOTE* COCKY can be read as a STANDALONE! Although a part of the Spartan Riders series, COCKY features a brand new couple, therefore, can be read as a standalone!

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: CHAPTER ONE

Building bikes was more than just a hobby; it was a way of life. Moose didn’t know anything else. He’d been taking apart and rebuilding engines since he was knee high to a grasshopper. Every time he had a tool in his hand, he remembered working beside his dad in the garage, his deep voice guiding and teaching him. Everything he knew he’d learned from him.

That man was his hero.

Moose was glad he wasn’t around anymore to see what their family had been reduced to. With the exception of the brothers around the table, the members that were left were trash, and the only one he’d thought was salvageable—Tanner, his little nephew—had turned out to be even worse.

Putting him down had been a necessary evil. Putting him in the ground had been as hard as he’d expected. But that was behind him now. Today was a new day, as Moose always tried to view it. And he had a lot to be thankful for. Starting with his brothers and ending with his new sidepiece.

Angel was…well, an angel. Never in a million years would he have thought he’d find a sweetheart like her serving beers in a strip club, but he had. She was a diamond shining amidst the dirt and grime, too young to be tarnished by the harshness of the world.

She was too good for him.

After the confrontation with Cruiz, after he’d left Tanner to bleed out on the pavement, the only person he could think about was his angel. He’d sought refuge with her, and she hadn’t hesitated to take him in and care for him. She’d soothed his body and his mind in ways no one else ever had.

He was keeping her. There were no two ways about it. Moose had decided to stake his claim. It’d taken him a few weeks of back and forth in his head to reach that conclusion, putting him in the garage for more hours than was usual for him so he could sort his thoughts, but as he tightened down bolts and nuts and greased chains, he knew only one thing: Angel was going to be his.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

Goose bumps spread across his arms, over his shoulders, and down his back at the sound of her soft, alluring voice. Angel had an interesting effect on him that Moose had yet to get used to.

A wide smile spreading across his face, Moose stopped what he was doing and straightened, turning to see her coming up the drive toward him.

She was wearing a little halter top that revealed a toned stomach and the tiniest pair of white shorts he’d ever seen. He knew without looking that her ass was hanging out. A possessive growl climbed up his throat when he thought of how many men had seen her ass today before him.

“Bad girl,” he said, his voice a low rumble as she walked straight into his arms, rose up onto her toes as he bent down to meet her, and kissed him like she meant it.

“Only for you,” she breathed against his lips, her fingers combing through the hair at the base of his head.

“Mmm,” Moose hummed, then tossed down the wrench he’d been holding onto and grabbed two handfuls of her fine ass, lifting her off her feet. She was so tiny, like a little doll against him. He towered over her, bigger, stronger. He loved the dichotomy. “That’s what I like to hear.”

Her smile was wide and full of laughter. “I know,” she purred.

“I’m getting you all dirty,” Moose informed her. Not like he gave a flying fuck though. Now, any man who looked at her ass was going to see his two giant, greasy handprints marking it. They’d know she’d been claimed. If they tried to step to her after that, he couldn’t be blamed for what happened next.

“Baby, I’ve been dirty since the moment I followed you out of the club.”

Moose snapped his teeth at her and gave her ass a hearty squeeze, eliciting a delighted little squeal from her. “What do you say we go inside and make you even dirtier, little girl.”

Cinching her legs around his waist, she nudged his nose with the tip of hers. “Why go inside when we have a perfectly nice tool bench right here?”

The rumble in Moose’s chest was loud and fierce, his cock so hard he was surprised it hadn’t ripped a hole through his pants. “Oh, you are a very bad girl,” he growled. “I love the way you think.”

“And I love the way you fuck. So less talking and more kissing.”

Moose sealed his mouth over hers, giving her exactly what she wanted. Carrying her across the garage, he set her down on the tool table and popped the button on her shorts, drew down the zipper, then dragged the too-short scrap of jeans down her silky legs. He left her panties on, though, in case anyone came looking for him. Should have closed that damn door…

It was too late now.

With his left hand, he pulled her panties aside and dragged his thick finger through her wet folds, testing her tight pussy while he worked to free his throbbing cock.

Her mouth was wild against his, anticipation fueling both their need. When Moose withdrew his finger, she made a sound of protest that was quickly silenced when he nestled the head of his cock up against her pretty pussy.

Breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers as he pushed his cock inside her, slowly filling her so they could both feel every inch as he sank in deep.

When their bodies were flush against one another, his cock jumping inside her and her pussy clenching down hard around it, he lifted his head to look her in the eyes.

“You are the best part of my day,” he told her…

Then Moose pulled back and started fucking her like the animal he was.

The grip she had on him ensured that Moose couldn’t hold on long. There was nothing but friction as he pushed into and pulled out of her tight-as-a-fist body. He’d lost track of how many times he’d laid waste to her sweet pussy, and yet he still hadn’t managed to fully break her in.

Maybe he was just too big. The beast inside of him liked that idea.

His little mouse’s claws dug into his shoulders as she clung to him, her legs cinched around his hips, her mouth hot and wet against the side of his neck. The little sounds of pleasure she made spurred him on, and Moose tightened his grip on her firm ass and pulled her up tighter against him as he deepened his thrusts.

If she didn’t come soon…

Fuck. The instant he thought it, he heard her breath hitch, the only tell she had that gave it away.

“Fuck yeah,” he growled, “come for me, Mouse.”

Her walls spasmed around his cock, milking his own release. With a grunt, Moose let go, coming with a ferocity that never failed to surprise him. He came so hard, he saw stars, felt the ropes of cum shoot out inside her as he filled her to the brim, the sloppy sounds as he continued fucking her growing louder as it overflowed, making a mess of them both.

Thank fuck she was on the pill. He loved going in raw. Loved feeling the powerful sensations that came with not having to pull out.

Huffing every breath into the curve of her slender shoulder, Moose cursed under his breath. “Goddamn, Mouse, you undo me every fuckin’ time.”

A small, barely audible laugh brushed by his ear as they both drew back to look one another in the eyes. Unwilling to break the connection, Moose remained firmly rooted between her thighs, his still-hard dick soaking up her warmth for a few moments longer.

Transferring her hands from up around his shoulders to his sides, Angel teased his heated skin with her blunt nails. “I think I’m starting to get addicted to you.”

Moose popped his eyebrows up. “Starting? Girl, you already are.”

Sucking in her bottom lip, she dragged the flat edges of her teeth across it before saying, “And how would you know that?”

“Because when I don’t get to you first, you come looking for me.” And he loved that. She was quiet, reserved when she wasn’t getting fucked, but she was a woman who knew what she wanted, and as she’d demonstrated today, she was more than willing to go out and get it instead of waiting for it to come to her.

“Maybe I was just in the neighborhood,” she replied coyly.

“And maybe you just had a craving for my dick inside you,” he said with a cocky smirk that set off a little fire behind those stunning green eyes.

Straightening her spine, Angel’s arms banded around his back as she brought her chest flush up against his. Her tongue ran up the front of his throat, over his Adam’s apple, to his chin. He felt the tantalizing nip of her teeth next and smiled as he tilted his chin down so he could see her eyes again.

“You’re playing with fire, Mouse,” he warned her. She knew he loved when she did that, and she knew what happened when she played.

That self-satisfied look she was giving him said she wanted to get burned. She opened her mouth to say something when the distinct sound of motorcycles reached his ears, growing louder by the second.

Turning his head toward the mouth of the garage, Moose glared at the as-yet empty street. Fuck. His brothers were coming.

With a resigned sigh, he dragged his cock free of its warm housing and ran his palm down it to dry it off some before tucking it back—with some difficulty—into his pants.

“Get dressed, Mouse,” he commanded as he reached down to pick her shorts up off the floor. “We’ve got company.”

Gone was that confident woman as she plucked the shorts from his hand and jumped down off the table, hurriedly stepping into them and shimmying the small scrap of fabric up those sexy-as-hell legs.

Mouse was back to being…well, a mouse. She was shy around everyone but him. He didn’t have to see her in action to know that she was nervous as a long-tailed cat in a house full of rocking chairs when it came to being around his brothers. He was the only one who got to see the other side of her—the open, honest, and free side.

He loved that he had the privilege.

As the bikes and his brothers made their appearance at the end of his drive, Moose looked his girl over, admiring what was his. “You’re a filthy girl, Mouse,” he observed, noting all the grease smudges his dirty hands had left on not just her clothes, but her pale, flawless skin.

Her wary gaze swung from his brothers who were now climbing off their bikes and making their way over to herself. Seeing his handiwork, the corner of her mouth twitched.

“Guess I should go home and get cleaned up.”

“Guess maybe you should.” He didn’t really want her to leave, but he wasn’t ready to share her fine ass with his brothers just yet. What was theirs was theirs, and he wanted to protect it for a little while longer.

“What up, my brotha?” Country shouted as he reached the garage opening. His curious gaze flicked to Angel and he jerked his chin up in greeting. Glancing at both of them, his smile grew wider. “Hope we aren’t interrupting.”

Moose looked at Angel, and seeing her hesitation, recognizing her discomfort, he shook his head as he stepped into her personal space and hooked his arm around her neck, tucking her tiny frame up against his side.

He loved how her hot little hand flattened over his stomach as she curled into him, her other hand resting just above his ass. “Nah, bro, just finishing up here. Baby girl was just leaving.”

She started to pull away, but Moose wasn’t about to let his mouse go without a kiss goodbye. Pinching her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he turned her face up and he brought his down and sealed his mouth over hers.

The kiss wasn’t intended to be as long as it was, but the instant Moose got a taste of her, he couldn’t let Angel go. He spent way too much time licking and biting those luscious lips. By the time he was done, his dick was ready for round two.

He cleared his throat, took a moment to meet her glazed eyes, and said softly, “I’ll be around later. Be ready.”

She nodded and stepped away, her movements a little wobbly before she got ahold of herself. Moose watched her walk past his brothers, teasing a shy little half smile in polite greeting to each one.

He didn’t like the way those fuckers checked her out though. Kind of made him want to punch each one of them in the face. Instead, he accepted their open appreciation as a compliment to his good taste. His baby girl was hot as fuck, and she was all his.

He kept his eyes on Angel until she was in her car and pulling away, shooting him a little smile and a wave, before he turned his full attention to his brothers. Quick, Repo, Country, Taco, Cricket, even a couple of prospects crowded his personal space.

He focused on the prospects, a broad smile sliding into place. He’d more than been looking forward to this night.

“Someone close the door. Let’s get down to business.”

ABOUT J.C. VALENTINE

J.C. Valentine is the USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward Fighters Series and the Forbidden Trilogy. Her vivid imagination and love of words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which, despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family members to read. No, she isn’t sorry.

Living in the Northwest, she has three amazing children and far too many pets. Among the many hats she wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for fellow authors.